B 


9^S| 

7  "^ 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


The    Roman    Index  of 
Forbidden   Books 


BRIEFLY  EXPLAINED  FOR  CATHOLIC 
BOOKLOVERS  AND  STUDENTS 


BY 
FRANCIS  S.  BETTEN,  S.J. 


WITH   A  SUMMARY   OF  THE   INDEX 


SECOND    EDITION 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO.,  1909 

Published  by  B.   Herder 

17  South  Broadway 

freiburg  (baden)  i     london  and  edinburgh 

B.  HERDER  1  SANDS  AND  CO. 


NIHIL  OBSTAT. 

St.  Louis,  die  i.  Nov.,  1908, 

R.  J.  Meyer,  S.  J. 

Praep.  Pror.  Missour 


NIHIL  OBSTAT. 

St.  Louis,  17  Nov.,  1908. 

F.  G.  HOLWECK. 

Censor  Librorum. 


IMPRIMATUR. 

St.  Louis,  17  Nov.,  1908. 

O.  J.  S.  HooG,  V.  G. 


Copyright,  1909,  by  Joseph  Gummersbach. 


-BECKTOLD  — 

PRINTING  AND  BOOK  MFG.  CO. 
ST.  LOUIS.  MO. 


NOTE 

This  short  treatise  was  written  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  cannot  devote  much 
time  to  the  study  of  the  Index.  It  ap- 
peared first  in  the  "  CathoHc  Union  and 
Times,"  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  was  reprinted 
in  the  "  CathoHc  Mind "  series,  Fordham 
University  Press,  New  York,  as  numbers 
23  and  24  of  1907. 

Those  who  wish  to  make  a  deeper  study 
of  the  subject  are  referred  to  the  follow- 
ing books : 

Rev.  Timothy  Hurley. —  A  Commentary  on 
the  Present  Index  Legislation.  Dublin, 
Brown  and  Nolan.  New  York,  Ben- 
ziger  Bros.     $1.35. 

Rev.  Arthur  Vermeersch,  S.J. —  De  prohi- 
bitione  et  censiira  lihrorum.     $0.85. 

Rev.  Jos.  Hilgers,  S.J. —  Der  Index  der 
verhotenen  Biicher.  St.  Louis,  Herder. 
$3.25. 


■ — Die  Biichcrverhote  in  Papsthriefen.     St. 

Louis,  Herder.     $0.95. 
Rev.  Jos.   Hilgers,   S J. —  The  Roman  In- 
dex and  its  Last  Historian.     A  Critical 
Review    of    ""  The    Censorship    of    the 
Church    of   Rome "    by    George   Haven 
Putnam.     Techny,    111.     Society    of    the 
Divine  Word.     10  cents. 
There  is  also  a  long  article  on  ''  Censor- 
ship," written  by  Rev.  J.  Hilgers,  S.J.,  in 
vol.  ni  of  the  Catholic  Encyclopedia. 

An  English  translation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion "  Officiorum  ac  munerum "  is  con- 
tained in  The  Great  Encyclical  Letters  of 
Pope  Leo  XHI,  with  Preface  by  Rev. 
John  J.  Wynne,  S.J.  New  York,  Ben- 
ziger  Bros.    $2.25, 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 


Section  I. —  Commentary. 


The    Index i 

The  Power  of  the  Church     ....  4 
Book      Prohibitions     Antedating     the 

Roman    Index 7 

The   Roman   Index 11 

Books   Forbidden  by   General  or   Par- 
ticular  Decrees 13 

Duties  Imposed  by  Law  and  by  Nature  18 

Who  Puts  Books  on  the  Index?   .      .  24 

The   ^Method   of  Examination      ...  28 

The  Spirit  of  the  Index  Congregation  33 

Further    Explanations 35 

a.  Why  an  Author  is  not  Permitted 

to  Defend  His  Book     ...  35 

b.  The    Index    does    not    Advertise 

Bad    Books 37 

c.  Index  Decisions  not  Omitted  for 

Fear  of  Apostasies   ....  39 

d.  The  "  Good  Catholic  "  .     .     .     .41 

e.  A  Mortal  Sin 43 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

f.  The  Galileo  Case 44 

g.  Non-Catholic  Book-Laws  ...     46 
h.     Some  Examples  of  Submission  to 

the  Index 48 

Section  II. —  A  Summary  of  the  Index. 

1.  Our  Duties  in  Relation  to  Forbidden 

Books 51 

2.  Forbidden   Books 53 

a.  Books  Forbidden  by  General  De- 

crees        54 

b.  Books    Forbidden    by    Particular 

Decrees 57 


SECTION  I 
COMMENTARY 

I.     The  Index. 

In  1 90 1,  a  reviewer  of  the  Roman  Index 
of  Forbidden  Books  opened  his  criticism  by 
congratulating  himself  upon  having  before 
him  a  genuine  copy  of  that  book,  of  which, 
he  says,  only  a  very  limited  number  were 
printed  for  the  exclusive  use  of  "  the  lead- 
ers of  the  Church."'  Owing  to  its  scarcity, 
he  thinks,  the  owner  of  the  volume,  which 
he  had  borrowed,  must  have  paid  at  least 
two  hundred  dollars  for  it.  He  could  have 
bought  a  brand  new  copy  for  $2.25.  The 
Index  of  which  he  speaks,  issued  by  order 
of  Leo  XIII,  in  1900,  is  for  sale  in  this 
country  by  B.  Herder,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  So 
I 


2  COMMENTARY 

are  the  three  later  editions  (1901,  1904, 
1907),  the  last  two  issued  under,  and  by 
order  of,  our  gloriously  reigning  Pontiff, 
Pious  X.  When  the  critic  felt  his  heart 
beat  with  joy  upon  being  allowed  to  view 
with  his  own  blessed  eyes  a  book  so  rare, 
so  expensive,  and  so  jealously  guarded  by 
"  the  leaders  of  the  Church,"  a  whole  edi- 
tion of  that  same  book  had  already  been 
sold,  and  a  second  was  about  to  be  put  on 
the  market.     Its  title  is  now: 

Index  lihrorum  prohibit  or  um,  Leonis 
XIII  Sum.  Pont,  auctoritate  recognitus 
SS.  D.  N.  Pii  P.  X  iiissu  editus.  Pramit- 
tuntur  Cofistitutiones  Apostolicce  de  ex- 
amine et  prohibitione  librorum.  (Index  of 
forbidden  books,  revised  by  the  authority 
of  Pope  Leo  XIII,  and  issued  by  order  of 
His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  X.  Preceded  by 
the  Apostolic  Constitutions  on  the  exami- 
nation and  prohibition  of  books.) 

A  glance  at  the  neatly  printed  volume 
will  disclose  the  reason  why  it  is  called 
"  Index  " ; —  almost  nine-tenths  of  it  con- 
sists of  a  catalogue  of  books  condemned 
by  the  Roman  authorities.     Of  still  greater 


THE  INDEX  3 

importance  than  this  catalogue  are  the  first 
thirty-four  pages,  which  give,  in  the 
**  Apostolic  Constitutions,"  the  general  laws 
of  the  Church  regarding  books. 

There  are  only  two  ''  Constitutions." 
But  the  whole  work  is  introduced  by  a 
brief  of  Leo  XIII,  in  which  the  Pontiff  de- 
clares that  this  edition  is  to  be  the  authen- 
tic one  for  the  whole  Church.  It  is  to  he 
binding  on  all  the  faithful  of  the  universe, 
regardless  of  race  or  language,  nationality 
or  country,  education,  learning  or  station 
in  life.  In  a  preface  headed  ''  Lectori  S.," 
the  Secretary  of  the  Roman  ''  Congregatio 
Indicis  "  compares  this  edition  of  the  "  In- 
dex "  with  the  former  ones,  points  out  the 
changes  that  were  made,  and  explains  the 
technical  arrangement  of  the  book. 

After  these  preliminaries  follow  the 
"Constitutions."  The  first  is  the  '' Offi- 
ciorum  ac  munerum  "  of  Leo  XIII,  dated 
Jan.  25,  1896.  This  document  recasts  the 
whole  legislation  of  the  Church  regarding 
the  production,  dissemination,  reprinting 
and  prohibition  of  such  books  as  the  Church 
may  and  must  concern  herself  with.     It  ab- 


4  COMMENTARY 

rogates  all  former  laws  and  regulations  of 
General  Councils  as  well  as  of  Sovereign 
Pontiffs,  with  one  exception :  the  Constitu- 
tion Sollicita  ac  provida  of  Benedict  XIV, 
also  reprinted  here,  by  which  this  great 
pope  established  or  rather  sanctioned  a 
method  —  the  one  still  in  use  —  of  exam- 
ining and  passing  sentence  on  the  books 
submitted  to  the  Roman  authorities. 

These  two  Constitutions  contain  the  en- 
tire general  legislation  of  the  Church  on 
the  head  of  books. 

There  is  no  "  Index  expurgatorius."  If 
there  were,  it  would  consist  of  books  con- 
demned conditionally,  donee  corrigantur, 
'*  until  amended."  But  such  books  are  all 
entered  in  the  ordinary  Index,  with  those 
two  Latin  words  added.  In  Pope  Leo's 
edition  they  are,  besides,  marked  with  an 
asterisk. 

2.    The  Power  of  the  Church. 

That  the  Church  has  the  right  to  legis- 
late on  the  publication  and  use  of  all  books 
that  touch  on  questions  of  faith  and  morals, 
must  be  evident  to  every  Catholic.     It  is 


POWER  OF  THE  CHURCH  5 

a  truth  clearly  contained  in  the  words  of 
Christ  to  St.  Peter :  ''  Feed  my  lambs, 
feed  my  sheep,"  and  in  the  duty  imposed 
on  the  Apostles  of  ''  teaching  the  faithful 
to  observe  all,  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you.'' 

The  fact  that  general  councils  as  well 
as  many  popes  have  issued  laws  and  de- 
crees regarding  books,  is  sufficient  evidence 
of  their  power  and  of  their  commission  to 
do  this.  This  very  fact  must  also  convince 
us  that  the  observation  of  these  laws  must 
be  salutary  and  conducive  to  the  welfare  of 
the  Church  at  large  and  of  the  individual 
Christian. 

The  inventions,  discoveries  and  progress 
of  our  times  can  introduce  no  change  in 
this  respect.  The  human  mind  is  still  as 
prone  to  err  and  as  much  subject  to  the 
persuasive  influence  of  books  as  it  ever 
was.  Good  books  are  as  useful  to-day  as 
they  were  in  olden  times,  and  objectionable 
writings  have  the  same  deplorable  effects 
they  had  a  thousand  years  ago. 

Nor  can  the  Church,  possessing  the 
power  to  watch  over  our  reading,  neglect 


6  COMMENTARY 

to  make  use  of  this  power  when  the  salva- 
tion of  souls  calls  for  its  exercise.  Bad 
literature  is  one  of  the  worst  enemies  of 
mankind.  The  Church  can  never  allow  it 
to  corrupt  the  hearts  of  her  children  or  to 
undermine  the  foundation  of  their  faith, 
without  at  least  raising  a  warning  voice. 

How  great  are  the  precautions  the  civil 
authorities  take  in  case  of  an  epidemic ;  yet, 
no  matter  how  seriously  the  precautions 
hamper  traffic  and  trade,  we  find  them  rea- 
sonable. We  should  even  censure  our  ex- 
ecutive and  legislative  officers  if  they  omit- 
ted to  take  proper  precautions.  But,  says 
Pope  Leo,  in  the  Constitution  Officiorum  ac 
munerum,  nothing  can  be  conceived  more 
pernicious,  more  apt  to  defile  souls  than 
uncurbed  license  in  the  writing  and  dissem- 
inating of  bad  books.  "  Therefore,"  he 
continues,  "  the  Church,  whose  office  it  is 
to  watch  over  the  integrity  of  faith  and 
morals,  has  ever  striven,  as  far  as  in  her 
power  lay,  to  restrain  the  faithful  from  the 
reading  of  bad  books  as  from  a  deadly 
poison." 


3.     Book    Prohibitions    Antedating    the 
Roman  Index. 

"  The  early  days  of  the  Church  witnessed 
the  earnest  zeal  of  St.  Paul,"  when  the 
Christians  at  Ephesus  brought  together  all 
the  superstitious  books  they  had  in  their 
possession  and  burned  them  publicly.  This 
example  of  loyalty  to  the  Church  cost 
them,  as  Holy  Scripture  says,  between 
eight  and  nine  thousand  dollars.  Such  was 
the  policy  in  regard  to  bad  books  at  Ephe- 
sus at  a  time  when  the  Apostle  whom 
many  love  to  call  the  most  liberal  and 
broadminded,  ruled  that  part  of  the  Church. 

Every  subsequent  age  records  similar 
measures  of  vigilance.  The  first  General 
Council  of  Xicsea,  in  325,  besides  proscrib- 
ing the  heresy  of  Arius,  also  issued  a  de- 
cree prohibiting  the  use  of  Arius'  book 
Thalia,  which  contained  his  heresy;  indeed, 
at  all  times  the  condemnation  of  a  heresy 
by  the  Church  entailed  the  prohibition  of 
the  works  propagating  it.  Pope  St.  Leo 
the  Great,  440-461,  does  not  hesitate  to 
declare  that  one  who  reads  forbidden 
7 


8  COAIMENTARY 

books    cannot    be    considered    a    Catholic. 

In  the  early  days  the  Church  had  to 
direct  her  attention  largely  to  the  many 
so-called  apocryphal  books,  falsely  claimed 
to  have  been  inspired  by  God  and  to  form 
part  of  Holy  Scripture.  In  496,  Pope 
Gelasius  issued  his  famous  decree,  in  which 
he  enumerates  the  true  books  of  the  Bible, 
a  number  of  the  writings  of  the  Fathers, 
(which  he  recommends,)  together  with  a 
'short  list  of  apocryphal  and  heretical  books, 
the  reading  of  which  he  forbids. 

In  745,  by  order  of  the  Pope,  a  Roman 
synod  examined  and  forbade  a  number  of 
superstitious  books  sent  by  St.  Boniface, 
who  had  found  them  among  the  Germans. 

In  fact,  already  in  those  days  the  entire 
present-day  book  legislation  of  the  Church 
existed  in  all  its  essential  features,  though 
there  were  few  written  decrees.  It  seems 
the  loyal  Christian's  duty  of  avoiding  bad 
books,  and  the  power  of  the  Church  to  pro- 
hibit them,  were  held  to  be  so  self-evident 
that  the  need  of  written  laws  was  not  felt. 

The  necessity  of  watching  over  the  men- 
tal food  of  the  faithful  became  more  urgent 


LAWS  ANTEDATING  THE  R.  IND.       9 

when,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  was  invented 
printing,  which  popes  and  bishops  hailed 
as  a  ''  divine  art ''  and  eulogised  as  the 
greatest  blessing  of  God's  providence  in  the 
natural  order.  It  spread  rapidly.  Before 
the  year  1500,  the  city  of  Rome  alone  had 
one  hundred  and  ninety  printing  establish- 
ments. The  oldest  of  them,  in  the  first 
seven  years  of  its  existence,  produced  not 
less  than  twenty-eight  works  in  forty-seven 
editions,  the  total  number  of  pages  being 
one  hundred  and  twenty-four  millions. 

As  to  the  moral  quality  of  the  books 
printed  at  that  period,  a  German,  Wimphel- 
ing,  writes  wnth  pardonable  pride  in  1507: 
"  We  Germans  practically  control  the  whole 
intellectual  market  of  civilized  Europe ; 
the  hooks,  hozcever,  ix.'hich  i\:e  bring  to  this 
market  are  for  the  most  part  high-class 
zvorks,  tending  to  the  honor  of  God,  the  sal- 
ration  of  souls,  and  the  civilization  of  the 
people/'  How  soon,  alas,  was  this  to 
change!  Even  while  these  words  were 
written,  the  evil  was  already  striking  root, 
and  steps  had  been  taken  by  the  civil  as 
well  as  by  the  ecclesiastical  power,  to  pre- 


10  COMMENTARY 

vent  the  printing  and  spreading  of  noxious 
books. 

But  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the 
so-called  Reformation  that  the  boundless 
increase  of  heretical  and  other  pernicious 
literature  called  for  radical  and  extensive 
measures.  They  began  in  1520  with  the 
solemn  condemnation  of  Luther's  doctrine 
and  the  prohibition  of  his  writings.  About 
that  time  the  first  indexes  or  catalogues  of 
forbidden  books  appeared.  They  were  not 
issued  by  the  popes,  but  emanated  mostly 
from  bishops,  provincial  councils,  or  uni- 
versities. The  civil  power  was  expected  to 
enforce  them.  In  some  cases  the  princes 
themselves  or  the  magistrates  of  cities  and 
republics  issued  their  own  indexes,  in  full 
harmony  and  after  consultation  with  the 
clergy. 

As  the  object  of  these  measures  was  to 
safeguard  the  faithful  against  imminent 
danger,  we  can  easily  understand  that  cata- 
logues of  forbidden  books  were  most  nu- 
merous in  those  countries  that  were  most 
exposed  to  heresy,  namely,  Germany,  Bel- 
gium, France,  and  Northern  Italy. 


ROMAN   INDEX  II 

It  is  remarkable  that  Henry  VIII  of 
England,  who  afterwards  fell  away  from 
the  Church,  was  among  the  first  to  legis- 
late against  heretical  books,  his  index  of 
forbidden  books  appearing  as  early  as  1526. 
After  his  apostasy  he  continued  with  in- 
creased severity  the  policy  of  prohibiting 
books  which  he  deemed  objectionable. 

4.     The  Roman  Index. 

]\Iore  than  thirty  years  after  the  first 
index  of  Henry  VIII  had  appeared,  the 
first  Roman  Index  of  Forbidden  Books  w^as 
compiled  and  issued  by  order  of  Paul  IV. 
It  remained  in  force  only  a  few  years,  till 
1564,  when  the  so-called  Tridentine  Index 
was  published  under  Pius  IV.  It  was 
called  "  Tridentine,"  because  it  had  been 
drawn  up  by  a  commission  appointed  for 
this  purpose  by  the  Council  of  Trent.  It 
was  milder  than  the  Index  of  Paul  IV,  and 
contained  divers  "  Index  rules,"  the  fore- 
runners of  the  general  decrees  embodied  in 
the  Constitution  "  Officiorum  ac  mimerum." 

The  Tridentine  Index  remained  the  Ro- 
man Index  for  more  than  three  hundred 


12  COMMENTARY 

years.  Its  "  rules  "  were  occasionally  mod- 
ified, new  regulations  were  added  or  old 
ones  abrogated,  other  books  were  inserted 
in  the  catalogue;  but  the  essential  features 
remained  the  same. 

In  1897,  Leo  XIII  took  the  matter  up 
again.  The  index  of  forbidden  books  was 
thoroughly  revised.  About  a  thousand 
were  dropped.  The  ''  rules,"  too,  were 
overhauled,  *'  to  make  them  milder,  without 
altering  their  nature,  so  that  it  cannot  be 
difficult  or  irksome  for  any  person  of  good 
will  to  obey  them." 

This,  then,  represents  the  whole  book 
legislation  of  the  Church.  There  are  no 
other  documents,  except  the  decrees  by 
which,  as  occasion  demanded,  individual 
books  were  forbidden.  The  encyclical  of 
Pius  X  on  Modernism  merely  enjoins  on 
the  bishops  special  vigilance  in  regard  to 
publications  infected  with  modernistic 
views. 

This  universal  legislation,  however,  does 
not  preclude  the  local  prohibition  of  books 
by  bishops  or  other  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties.    Thus  Spain  had,  until  1820,  its  own 


GEXERAL  AND  PARTIC.  DECREES   I3 

Index,   controlled  by  the   Spanish   Inquisi- 
tion. 

5.     Books  Forbidden  by  General  or  Par- 
ticular Decrees. 

As  we  have  already  mentioned,  the  Con- 
stitution "  Officiorum  ac  munerum  "  estab- 
lishes the  general  laws  by  which  books  are 
forbidden.  As  will  be  seen  in  our  Sum- 
mary, these  laws  deal  with  classes  of  books. 
The  only  one  named  expressly  is  the  Bible. 
But  all  the  books  clearly  contained  in  these 
classes  are  as  strictly,  and  sometimes  even 
more  strictly,  condemned  than  those  listed 
singly  in  the  second  part  of  the  Index. 

Pope  Leo  changed  the  Tridentine  rules 
"  without  altering  their  nature.''  It  is,  in- 
deed, difficult  to  see  hovv'  the  nature  of  these 
regulations  could  have  been  changed.  They 
simply  express  the  point  of  view  from 
which  the  Church  must  look  upon  objec- 
tionable publications.  While  opposing  and 
condemning  spoken  error,  the  Church 
surely  cannot  allow  full  sway  to  the  printed. 
In  regard  to  the  second  part,  or  Index 
proper,  many  wrong  notions  are  current. 


14  COMMENTARY 

One  of  these  is,  that  this  Index  contains 
all  the  books  forbidden  by  the  Church,  and 
that  there  are  no  others  which  we  are 
obHged  to  avoid.  From  the  foregoing  re- 
marks, it  must,  on  the  contrary,  be  con- 
cluded that  there  are  many  other  books  for- 
bidden by  the  laws  of  the  Church.  The 
worst  of  them  are  not  in  this  special  Index 
at  all,  because  they  fall  under  the  general 
decrees. 

It  is  by  no  means  the  intention  of  the 
Roman  authorities  to  catalogue  all  the  liter- 
ary virus  that  has  been  vomited  forth  by 
printing  presses  all  over  the  w^orld  in  the 
course  of  four  and  a  half  centuries.  By 
means  of  the  general  laws  laid  down  in  the 
"  Officiorum  ac  munerum  "  we  are  in  all 
cases  able  to  see  our  duty. 

There  are  especially  two  purposes  for 
which  books  are  prohibited  separately  and 
by  name. 

Whenever  there  is  a  doubt  about  the  na- 
ture of  a  book,  recourse  may  be  had  to 
Rome;  sometimes  the  Roman  authorities 
appointed  for  this  purpose,  will  take  up  the 


GENERAL  AND  PARTIC.  DECREES   1 5 

matter  without  being  appealed  to.  They 
will  investigate  and  decide  by  putting  the 
book  on  the  Index,  or,  by  dismissing  it. 
This  is  the  case  with  most  books  publicly 
censured.  It  was  the  case  with  the  books  of 
Schell  and  Loisy,  which,  it  was  strongly 
urged  by  learned  men,  propagated  ideas 
contrary,  or  at  least  dangerous,  to  the  faith, 
though  a  host  of  followers  admired  them 
as  orthodox  masterpieces.  Rome  had  to 
speak,  and  settled  the  controversy  by  con- 
demning the  books  in  question. 

Dismissal  does  not  always  mean  that  a 
book  is  unobjectionable.  The  authorities 
may  refrain  from  pronouncing  deserved 
condemnation  for  reasons  of  prudence  and 
expediency. 

Sometimes  the  preservation  of  discipline 
or  religious  unity  necessitates  this  step. 
Thus  about  two  hundred  years  ago  the  Pope 
had  imposed  silence  on  two  factions  that 
were  carrying  on  a  theological  feud.  This 
silence  was  violated  on  both  sides,  a  book 
appearing  for  the  defence  of  either  position. 
What    was    more   natural    than   that   both 


l6  COMMENTARY 

books  should  be  put  on  the  Index?  These 
and  similar  cases  could  not  be  covered  so 
clearly  by  the  general  decrees. 

What  has  thus  far  been  said,  offers  a 
partial  solution  of  another  current  error. 
The  Index  is  not  a  studiously  selected,  not 
even  a  systematically  arranged  catalogue  of 
objectionable  books.  It  vi^as  the  need  of 
the  moment,  doctrinal  blunders,  cavillations 
and  heresies,  grievous  trespasses  against 
discipline  and  charity,  proceeding  from  ani- 
mosity or  want  of  tact,  that  caused  the  in- 
sertion of  most  of  the  books.  In  nearly  all 
cases  the  Roman  authorities  confine  them- 
selves to  books  concerning  v^hich  they  are 
appealed  to;  and  as  there  is  no  system  in 
the  making  of  these  appeals,  there  can  be 
no  system  in  the  condemnations.  In  the 
new  Leonine  edition  of  the  Index  the 
books  are  enumerated  alphabetically  by  au- 
thors or  pseudonyms;  anonymous  books 
are  listed  according  to  titles. 

It  must  now  be  obvious  to  the  attentive 
reader  why  most  of  the  books  put  on  the 
Index  are  works  on  theology,  or  on  the  his- 
tory and  government  of  the  Church,  and 


GENERAL   AND    PARTIC.    DECREES       I? 

why  (as  may  be  expected  in  the  case  of  such 
publications),  a  considerable  percentage 
are  written  in  Latin.  However,  a  goodly 
number  of  books  are  on  the  Index  because 
they  are  detrimental  to  good  morals.  There 
are  very  few  there  which  treat  of  the  nat- 
ural sciences.  The  Index  will  not  busy  it- 
self with  publications  on  electricity  or 
X-rays,  unless  an  author  on  a  subject  of 
this  sort  devote  a  considerable  part  of  his 
work  to  attacks  upon  religion. 

There  are  some  well-meaning  people 
who,  while  agreeing  that  the  productions 
of  Zola,  Dumas  and  other  writers  of  the 
same  sort,  fully  deserve  condemnation,  can- 
not understand  why  works  like  Ranke's 
History  of  the  Popes,  which  is  an  acknowl- 
edged authority  in  its  line,  should  be  pro- 
scribed. Such  works  are  not  on  the  Index 
for  the  good  things  they  contain,  but  for 
the  poison  they  mix  with  the  wholesome 
food  so  cleverly  that  it  takes  more  than 
ordinary  scholarship  and  discretion  to  sep- 
arate the  one  from  the  other. 

The  Roman  Committee  of  Cardinals, 
which  has  charge  of  this  part  of  ecclesias- 


l8  COMMENTARY 

tical  discipline,  is  not  at  all  bent  on  pro- 
scribing books.  Works  like  the  one  men- 
tioned are  never  put  on  the  Index  unless  it 
is  quite  clear  that  the  mischief  to  be  feared 
from  them  will  far  outweigh  the  good  they 
may  do.  Scholars  and  students  well 
grounded  in  their  faith,  who  have  a  real 
and  legitimate  cause  for  reading  a  forbid- 
den book  can  easily  obtain  a  dispensation. 
It  is  clear  from  the  preceding  explana- 
tions that  a  book  may  sometimes  be 
dropped  from  the  Index.  This  is  done 
when  a  book  has  long  ceased  to  be  danger- 
ous, or  a  cause  of  dissension,  or  if  it  has 
fallen  into  obHvion.  Thus  Pope  Leo  XIII 
caused  to  be  expunged  about  a  thousand 
titles.  This  does  not  imply  a  reproach  for 
the  authorities  of  former  centuries,  much 
less  the  giving  up  of  an  iota  of  the  old  prin- 
ciples. 

6.     Duties  Imposed  by  Law  and  by 
Nature. 

Suppose  a  person  were  so  well  grounded 
in  faith  and  virtue,  so  thoroughly  versed 
in  theology,  philosophy,  and  the  natural 
sciences,   that  the   reading  of  books   e.  g. 


LAW  AND  NATURE  I9 

on  Christian  Science,  or  the  works  of  Vol- 
taire, would  not  harm  him.  The  Index  pro- 
hibits these  books;  would  he  whom  they 
could  not  harm  be  allowed  to  read  them? 
As  we  put  the  case,  he  would,  by  reading 
them,  not  commit  the  sin  of  seriously  en- 
dangering his  soul.  Yet  he  would  sin  by 
disregarding  a  positive  law  of  the  Church. 
These  laws  are  like  the  precautionary 
measures  taken  by  the  civil  authorities  in 
times  of  epidemic;  if  they  are  to  have  the 
desired  effect,  they  must  be  observed  by  all. 
When  the  community  is  under  quarantine, 
those  who  declare  themselves  free  from 
the  disease  must  observe  the  regulations  as 
well  as  the  rest. 

Let  those  who  think  they  have  a  good 
reason  for  reading  a  forbidden  book,  and 
who  are  not  mistaken  in  supposing  that 
there  is  no  danger  for  them,  humbly  ask 
for  permission,  as  did  the  Saints.  By  do- 
ing so  they  declare  that  the  standpoint  of 
the  Church  is  theirs,  and  that  they  willingly 
submit  to  a  power  which  was  entrusted 
with  the  care  of  "  teaching  to  observe  what- 
soever   I    have    commanded    you."     "  We 


20  COMMENTARY 

have  to  develop  a  loving  habit  of  loyalty 
and  obedience  to  the  Church  as  to  Christ, 
our  Savior." 

Suppose,  on  the  other  hand,  there  were 
no  Church  laws  prohibiting  pernicious 
reading.  In  that  case  should  we  be  al- 
lowed to  read  any  book  we  pleased?  By 
no  means.  We  should  then,  it  is  true,  by 
reading,  e.  g.,  Zola's  novels,  not  commit  an 
act  of  disobedience  to  the  Church.  But, 
as  already  hinted,  there  is  another  duty  im- 
posed on  us  by  God  Himself  —  the  grave 
duty  to  guard  our  soul  from  serious  danger. 
This  duty  does  not  depend  on  any  positive 
law  or  decree  of  authority,  and  it  equally 
binds  the  Christian  and  the  non-Christian. 
It  is  expressed  in  the  fifth  commandment : 
"  Thou  shalt  not  kill."  This  duty  corres- 
ponds on  our  part  to  what  we  ask  of  God 
in  the  sixth  petition  of  the  Our  Father: 
"  Lead  us  not  into  temptation."  We 
should  undoubtedly  violate  it  by  reading 
Zola's  filthy  works.  The  prohibition  of 
these  works  by  the  Church  merely  adds 
another  obligation  to  that  imposed  by  the 
natural  law,  thereby  considerably  strength- 


LAW  AND  NATURE  21 

ening  our  will  and  enabling  us  to  resist 
every  enticement  to  read  what  can  be  read 
only  at  a  serious  risk  to  our  soul. 

This  grave  duty,  therefore,  is  not  im- 
posed by  the  Church  and  cannot  be  taken 
away  by  the  Church.  It  is  a  natural  duty 
and  as  such  remains  in  force  even  after 
we  are  granted  a  formal  permission,  which 
is  neither  intended  nor  able  to  suppress 
temptations  that  may  arise  from  the  pe- 
rusal of  bad  books.  If  we  have  a  good  rea- 
son to  apply  for  permission  —  curiosity  is 
not  a  good  reason  —  then  and  then  only  can 
we  expect  a  special  protection  from  Divine 
Providence.  Of  course,  this  protection 
does  not  dispense  us  from  the  necessity  of 
using  all  the  means  of  self-protection,  both 
natural  and  supernatural. 

I  know  of  a  priest  who  was  in  every 
way  a  model  man.  He  fell  suddenly  away 
from  the  Church,  married,  and  is  now  a 
foremost  champion  in  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy.  His  apostasy  is,  not  without  rea- 
son, attributed  to  the  reading  of  infidel 
books,  though  no  doubt  he  had  the  neces- 
sary dispensation. 


22  COMMENTARY 

There  was  another  priest,  who  has  mean- 
while died  the  death  of  the  just,  a  cele- 
brated author  and  art  critic.  In  writing  a 
work  on  Voltaire  he  had  to  study  the  books 
of  that  arch-agnostic.  He  obtained  the  req- 
uisite permission,  but,  while  perusing  Vol- 
taire's writings,  he  was  on  his  knees,  to 
implore,  as  it  were,  by  this  humble  posture 
the  protection  of  God  against  the  wicked 
influence  to  which  he  was  exposed. 

St.  Francis  of  Sales,  the  great  and 
learned  Bishop  of  Geneva,  had  obtained 
permission  to  read  the  books  of  heretics  in 
order  to  refute  them,  and  he  is  careful  to 
let  his  readers  know  the  fact,  at  the  same 
time  thanking  God  in  pathetic  words  that 
his  soul  had  suffered  no  harm  in  so  great 
a  danger. 

This  grave  natural  duty  in  the  choice  of 
our  reading  matter  extends  much  farther 
than  the  legislation  of  the  Church.  Par- 
ents and  priests  do  not  comply  with  their 
obligation  of  controlling  the  reading  of 
their  charges  if  they  merely  look  up  the  In- 
dex to  see  whether  a  certain  book  is  men- 
tioned there.     If  an  otherwise  unobjcction- 


LAW  AND  NATURE  23 

able  book  contains  an  obscene  passage  of  a 
page  or  so,  no  one  will  claim  that  it  falls 
under  the  general  law  prohibiting  obscene 
books.  Nor  is  it  likely  to  be  put  on  the  In- 
dex. Yet  such  a  book  is  apt  to  work  havoc 
in  the  innocent  soul  of  your  daughter  or 
son,  perhaps  in  your  own.  As  long  as  that 
passage  is  in  it,  the  book  —  even  though  it 
is  not  on  the  Index  —  cannot  and  must  not, 
under  pain  of  sin,  be  allowed  in  the  hands 
of  children. 

Would  that  this  twofold  duty  were  al- 
ways faithfully  complied  with,  especially  in 
our  large  cities,  where  books  of  every  sort 
are  within  easy  reach.  Do  not  many,  per- 
haps all,  public  libraries  offer  among  other 
books  such  as  are  ''  derogatory  to  the 
Church,  the  hierarchy,  the  religious  state," 
and  especially  novels  which  ''  defend  as 
lawful  or  tolerable,  freemasonry,  suicide, 
divorce  "  ?  How  can  we  expect  our  young 
people  to  have  Catholic  views  on  courtship 
and  marriage,  on  the  priesthood,  on  the 
veneration  of  the  saints,  if  we  allow  them 
to  imbibe  the  ideas  of  such  writers  as  Bal- 
zac  or   Dumas?     It   is   deplorabla   enough 


24  COMMENTARY 

that  the  modern  novel  is  the  catechism  of 
milHons  outside  of  the  Church.  We  must 
not  allow  it  to  displace  the  Catholic  cate- 
chism or  to  unteach,  totally  or  in  part,  the 
truths  taug-ht  by  it. 

7.     Who  Puts  Books  On  The  Index? 

The  popes  have  at  all  times  exercised  the 
prerogative  of  their  supreme  office  as 
guardians  of  the  faith  by  condemning  books 
opposed  to  the  faith.  The  latest  of  such 
condemnations  is  that,  in  1862,  of  the  v^orks 
of  the  Munich  professor,  Frohschainmer, 
who  answered  this  condemnation  by  falling 
away  from  the  Church.  There  are  in  all 
144  books  that  were  individually  proscribed 
by  a  papal  document.  In  Pope  Leo's  edi- 
tion they  are  marked  with  a  dagger.  Yet 
only  in  cases  of  the  utmost  importance  did 
the  popes  act  themselves.  To  facilitate  the 
government  of  the  world-wide  Church,  in 
the  course  of  centuries  special  commit- 
tees of  cardinals  were  appointed,  to  whom 
part  of  the  pontiff's  various  duties  wxre 
entrusted.  These  committees  are  styled 
Congregations.     A  larger  or  smaller  num- 


WHO  PUTS  BOOKS  ON  THE  INDEX?  25 

ber  of  learned  priests  and  bishops,  gener- 
ally called  Consultors,  assist  the  cardinals 
and  practically  do  the  greater  part  of  the 
work,  though  the  final  decision  in  all  cases 
is  reserved  to  the  cardinals. 

The  highest  of  these  Roman  Congrega- 
tion is  the  Sacrum  Officiiim  or  "  General 
Inquisition,"  called  also  the  "  Congrega- 
tion of  the  Holy  Office,"  of  which  the 
Pope  himself  is  Prefect.  Its  purpose  is 
especially  to  watch  over  the  purity  of  faith. 
It  is  this  august  body  that,  after  the  Pope 
himself,  is  in  the  first  place  called  to  judge 
the  doctrines  propounded  in  any  book.  It 
was  this  Congregation  that  performed  the 
preparatory  work  for  the  first  Index  of 
Paul  IV,  and,  although  another  congrega- 
tion for  the  examining  of  books  was  soon 
after  estabhshed,  the  Sacrum  Oificium  con- 
tinued to  exercise  the  same  power.  As 
may  be  expected,  especially  such  works  as 
seemed  to  affect  the  integrity  of  the  faith, 
were  submitted  to  this  supreme  court.  In 
our  days  the  works  of  the  French  priest 
Loisy  were  proscribed  by  the  Sacrum 
Officium. 


26  COMMENTARY 

But  the  bulk  of  this  work  is  at  present 
performed  by  the  Congregatio  Indicis  lib- 
rorum  prohihitorum,  or  "  Congregation  of 
the  Index  of  Forbidden  Books."  It  was 
founded  by  Saint  Pius  V  in  1571,  seven 
years  after  the  pubHcation  of  the  Triden- 
tine  Index.  Since  then  about  eighty  per 
cent,  of  all  individual  prohibitions  of  books 
have  emanated  from  it.  Its  Prefect  is  a 
cardinal.  The  present  one  is  Cardinal  Seg- 
na.  The  perpetual  assistant  and  secretary 
are  always  members  of  the  Dominican  or- 
der. Besides  the  seven  or  ten  cardinals 
there  are  about  thirty  consultors,  many  of 
whom  are  bishops. 

Though  three  or  four  prohibitions  of 
books  have  emanated  from  other  Roman 
authorities,  the  practice  has  been  to  let 
either  the  Sacrum  Oificium  or  the  Congre- 
gation of  the  Index  decide  in  all  cases. 
The  latter  Congregation,  moreover,  had  to 
register  all  condemnations  pronounced  by 
any  of  the  legitimate  authorities  and  to  see 
that  they  were  entered  in  the  new  editions 
of  the  Index. 

Our  present  Holy  Father,  Pius  X,  has 


WHO  PUTS  BOOKS  ON  THE  INDEX?  27 

lately  brought  about  a  long  desired  reform 
in  the  central  government  of  the  Church. 
The  competency  of  many  of  the  Roman 
Congregations  has  been  more  clearly  de- 
fined, and  several  of  those  originally  in- 
stituted have  been  either  suppressed  or 
united  with  others.  The  Congregation  of 
the  Index  has  received  a  wider  sphere  and 
greater  power.  While  formerly  it  passed 
only  on  books  in  regard  to  which  it  was 
expressly  appealed  to,  it  has  now  become 
a  regular  vigilance  committee  for  the  whole 
Church.  The  Holy  Father  says :  "  For 
the  future  it  shall  be  the  province  of  this 
Sacred  Congregation  not  only  to  examine 
diligently  the  books  reported  to  it,  to  pro- 
hibit them,  if  this  should  seem  well,  and 
to  concede  dispensations ;  but  also  to  offi- 
cially investigate  in  the  best  available  way 
whether  writings  of  any  kind  that  should 
be  condemned  are  being  circulated;  and  to 
remind  the  ordinaries  how  strictly  they  are 
bound  to  condemn  pernicious  writings  and 
to  denounce  them  to  the  Floly  See." 

On  the  relation  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Index  to  that  of  the  Sacrum  OfRcium 


28  COMMENTARY 

(Holy  Office)  the  Pope  says:  "As  the 
prohibition  of  books  has  very  frequently 
the  scope  of  defense  of  the  Faith,  which 
is  also  the  object  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Holy  Office,  we  decree  that  in  future 
in  all  things  relating  to  the  prohibition  of 
books,  and  in  those  alone,  the  Cardinals, 
Consultors  and  officers  of  both  congrega- 
tions, may  communicate  with  one  another, 
and  that  all  of  them  shall  be  bound  by  the 
same  secret." 

The  Roman  Congregations  are  not  in- 
fallible. But  they  represent  the  Pope  in 
his  highest  capacity  as  shepherd  of  the  en- 
tire flock  of  Christ.  Therefore  we  owe 
them  obedience.  Their  regulations  and  or- 
ders must  find  us  even  more  willing  to 
obey  than  those  of  our  bishops  and  pastors, 
to  whom  only  a  small  portion  of  Christ's 
kingdom  is  entrusted. 

8.     The  Method  of  Examination. 

Our  confidence  in  the  fairness  of  the  ver- 
dicts of  the  S.  Congregation  of  the  Index 
will  be  much  increased,  if  we  acquaint  our- 
selves with  the  method  it  follows  in  carry- 


METHOD  OF  EXAMINATION         29 

ing  out  its  arduous,  odious  and  yet  very 
important  task.  This  method  is  practically 
the  same  for  both  the  Holy  Office  and  the 
Index.  The  usual  procedure  is  based 
mainly  on  the  regulations  laid  down  in  the 
Bull  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV,  ''  Sollicita  ac 
provida." 

When  a  book  is  reported  to  the  Index 
Congregation,  the  secretary  first  tries  to 
ascertain  whether  it  is  worth  examining. 
He  also  inquires  by  letter  from  bishops  and 
other  reliable  persons  about  the  advisabil- 
ity of  a  condemnation.  Several  consultors 
assist  him  in  this  preliminary  investiga- 
tion ;  but  the  Cardinal  Prefect  has  to  ratify 
their  decision. 

If  they  think  the  book  should  be  exam- 
ined, it  is  handed  to  a  consultor,  who  has 
to  study  it  carefully  and  to  draw  up  a  de- 
tailed report,  noting  exactly  the  passages 
which  he  finds  objectionable,  and  consci- 
entiously pointing  out  all  redeeming  fea- 
tures. His  report  together  with  the  book  is 
passed  on  to  other  consultors,  each  of 
wnom  can  thus  satisfy  himself  whether  the 
first  "  examiner's  "  verdict  is  fair,  and  has 


30  COMMENTARY 

also  an  opportunity  to  formulate  his  own 
view.  One  question  they  have  to  answer  is, 
whether  the  condemnation  is  likely  to  have 
a  good  effect. 

After  comparing  the  opinions  of  the  con- 
suitors,  the  secretary  of  the  Congregation 
draws  up  an  official  statement  of  the  rea- 
sons for  and  against  a  prohibition,  which 
statement  together  with  the  book  is  sub- 
mitted to  the  Cardinal  Prefect,  by  whose 
orders  it  is  printed  and  a  copy  sent  to  each 
cardinal  and  consultor  of  the  Congrega- 
tion. 

Next  a  preparatory  meeting  of  the  con- 
suitors  is  called  for  a  previous  discussion. 
The  consultor  who  examined  the  book 
speaks  first,  then  all  the  others,  beginning 
with  the  youngest.  The  secretary  care- 
fully records  the  views  of  each  consultor, 
together  with  his  reasons. 

At  least  ten  days  must  elapse  between 
this  meeting  and  the  solemn  session  of  the 
whole  Congregation,  in  which  the  question 
is  finally  decided  by  a  vote  of  the  cardinals. 

The  decision  arrived  at  is  commonly 
given  in  one  of  these  four  technical  phrases : 


METHOD  OF  EXAMINATION         3I 

Damnetur,  ''  condemned  ";  dimittatur,  "  dis- 
missed " ;  donee  eorrigatnr,  "  forbidden  un- 
til amended  " ;  res  dilata,  "  the  case  is  post- 
poned." The  verdict  donee  eorrigatnr  of 
course,  can  only  be  given  when  a  book  ad- 
mits of  correction;  when  it  is  thoroughly 
bad  (e.  g.  written  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
eulogizing  Freemasonry  or  maligning  Cath- 
olic bishops),  a  donee  eorrigatnr  would 
have  no  meaning. 

Finally,  the  secretary  of  the  Congrega- 
tion lays  the  whole  matter  before  the  Pope, 
who,  if  he  sees  fit,  authorizes  the  publica- 
tion of  the  decree. 

Nobody  will  deny  that  this  is  a  very  ex- 
cellent method  of  procedure.  Under  it  a 
book  is  examined  at  least  three  times,  and 
twenty-five  or  thirty  picked  scholars  par- 
ticipate in  the  proceedings,  each  of  whom 
has  taken  a  solemn  oath  never  to  allow 
himself  to  be  influenced  by  sympathy  or 
antipathy  and  to  have  nothing  in  view 
but  the  eternal  welfare  of  souls. 

If  the  author  is  a  Catholic,  he  must  be 
informed  before  the  decree  is  published. 
If  but  a  few  copies  of  the  book  have  been 


32  COMMENTARY 

sold,  and  the  author  promises  either  to  sup- 
press it,  or  to  issue  an  amended  edition, 
if  possible,  the  decree  is  not  published.  But 
even  when  this  cannot  be  prevented,  e.  g. 
when  a  whole  edition  is  already  in  circula- 
tion, credit  is  given  to  the  author  in  the 
decree  itself  for  declaring  his  submission, 
by  adding  the  words :  auctor  laiidahiliter 
se  subjccit,  "  the  author  has  praiseworth- 
ily  submitted." 

Great  care  is  taken  to  have  all  books  ex- 
amined by  men  who  are  not  only  well 
versed  in  the  subject  matter,  but  who  also 
understand  thoroughly  the  language  in 
which  they  happen  to  be  written.  Nor 
does  the  Congregation  in  important  cases 
confine  itself  to  its  regular  consultors; 
whenever  it  seems  advisable,  the  services 
of  other  competent  critics  are  enlisted. 

All  the  members  of  the  Congregation  are 
bound  by  oath  to  keep  absolute  secrecy 
with  regard  to  every  detail  of  the  official 
transactions,  no  matter  whether  a  book  un- 
der discussion  is  finally  condemned  or  not. 
By  this  means  each  feels  more  free  in  giv- 


SPIRIT  OF  THE  IND.  CONGREG.       33 

ing  his  opinion,  and  the  reputation  of  the 
author  is  spared  as  long  and  as  much  as 
possible, 

9.     The  Spirit  of  the  Congregation  of  the 
Index. 

As  to  the  spirit  that  should  actuate  the 
members  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Index, 
the  rules  laid  down  for  its  consultors  by 
Benedict  XIV  in  the  Bull  "  Sollicita  ac 
provida  "  are  instructive. 

'' Ipsos  .  .  .  monemiis  ac  velienicn- 
ter  hortamur  ut  in  examine  iiidicioque  lib- 
roriim  seqiientes  regulas  diligent er  inspic- 
iant  accurateque  custodiant/'  "  We  wish 
to  admonish  and  exhort  them  most  urgently 
to  study  carefully  and  observe  accurately 
the  following  rules  for  examining  and  judg- 
ing books : 

I.  Let  them  not  imagine  that  it  is  their 
duty  to  use  every  means  to  bring  about 
the  condemnation  of  the  books  submitted 
to  them.  They  ought  rather  to  study  such 
books  conscientiously,  without  passion  or 
anxiety   (sedato  animo),  in  order  to  fur- 


34  COMMENTARY 

nish  such  well-found  observations,  such 
objective  reasons,  as  will  enable  the  Con- 
gregation to  pass  a  just  verdict. 

2.  Should  a  consultor  find  that  he  is  not 
competent  to  judge  a  book  which  he  is 
asked  to  examine,  let  him  know  that  he  will 
not  be  free  from  guilt,  either  before  God 
or  man,  unless  he  at  once  confesses  his 
incompetence.  Far  from  damaging  his  rep- 
utation with  the  pope  or  the  cardinals,  such 
an  avowal  will  rather  gain  their  esteem  and 
praise  for  his  straightforwardness  and  hon- 
esty. 

3.  Let  them  set  aside  absolutely  all  prej- 
udice in  favor  of  nation,  family,  school  or 
order;  let  them  relinquish  all  party  spirit, 
and  keep  before  their  minds  the  undoubted 
doctrine  of  the  Church,  as  laid  down  in  the 
decrees  of  the  councils,  in  papal  documents, 
etc.,  knowing  that  there  are  opinions  that, 
while  they  seem  certain  to  one  nation, 
school,  or  order,  are,  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  Holy  See,  opposed  by  others;  the 
Holy  See  leaving  all  these  opinions  in  their 
degree  of  probability. 

4.  It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that 


AUTHORS  35 

it  is  impossible  to  judge  fairly  the  meaning 
of  a  passage,  miless  the  entire  book  is  stud- 
ied, and  unless  the  various  statements 
found  in  different  sections  are  compared 
with  one  another,  and  the  whole  purpose  of 
the  book  is  steadily  kept  in  view. 

5.  If  an  author  who  enjoys  the  reputa- 
tion of  sound  theological  learning,  has 
used  expressions  which  might  be  under- 
stood in  a  wrong  as  well  as  in  a  right  mean- 
ing, fairness  demands  that  they  be,  as  far 
as  possible,  interpreted  in  his  favor. 

These  and  similar  rules  .  .  .  must 
be  kept  before  the  minds  of  the  consultors, 
in  order  that  they  may  have  due  regard  for 
their  own  conscience,  the  good  name  of  au- 
thors, the  interests  of  the  Church,  and  the 
welfare  of  souls." 

10.     Further  Explanations. 

A.    Why  an  Author  is  Not  Permitted  to  Defend 
His  Book. 

If  an  author  could  accompany  every  copy 
of  his  work  that  leaves  the  bookstore  or 
library,  he  would  be  able  to  explain  ob- 


36  FURTHER  EXPLANATIONS 

scure  passages  and  to  show  what  meaning 
he  wished  doubtful  phrases  to  convey  to 
the  reader.  It  is  precisely  because  he  can- 
not multiply  himself  that  he  employs  print- 
er's ink  to  convey  his  ideas  to  others.  It 
must,  therefore,  be  supposed  that  his  words 
mean  what  he  intends  to  say.  The  reader, 
at  any  rate,  has  no  corrective.  He  has 
only  the  book,  not  the  author  to  fall  back 
upon.  It  is  impossible  to  recur  to  the  au- 
thor when  there  is  question  of  the  correct- 
ness or  incorrectness  of  a  book.  If  the  au- 
thor has  to  be  called  upon  to  explain  the 
meaning  of  his  book,  he  should  have  left  it 
unprinted. 

Moreover,  it  is  hardly  credible,  as  Pope 
Benedict  XIV  points  out,  that  anything  an 
author  might  advance  in  his  favor,  should 
escape  so  many  examiners  without  receiv- 
ing due  attention  and  emphasis. 

The  whole  procedure  is  primarily  not  in- 
tended as  a  measure  against  the  author, 
although  pecuniary  loss  may  ensue,  but  to 
protect  the  faithful.  A  condemnation  is 
rather  a  warning  to  the  would-be  reader, 
than  a  punishment  inflicted  upon  the  au- 


INDEX    DOES    NOT    ADVERTISE       ^ 

thor.  It  is  not  an  act  of  jurisdiction. 
W^ere  the  author's  personal  views  under 
investigation,  he  would  be  summoned  per- 
sonally before  another  tribunal  and  tried 
according  to  a  method  that  would  give  him 
the  amplest  opportunity  to  defend  himself. 
These  considerations  also  show  that  the 
condemnation  of  a  book  after  its  author's 
death  is  not  unreasonable.  A  book  remains 
what  it  is  independently  of  its  author.  Nor 
would  it  change  the  nature  of  a  book  were 
the  author  afterwards  to  prove  his  ortho- 
doxy to  the  satisfaction  of  the  authorities, 
or  to  do  penance  in  sackcloth  and  ashes, 
or  for  the  rest  of  his  mortal  life  consort 
with  the  Trappists.  Were  it  morally  cer- 
tain, however,  that  almost  all  the  copies  of 
a  book  were  destroyed,  a  prohibitory  decree 
would  fail  of  its  purpose. 


B.     The  Index  Does  Not  Advertise   Bad  Books. 

Now  and  then  there  is  expressed  an  ap- 
prehension lest  the  Index,  far  from  sup- 
pressing, rather  advertises  bad  books  and 
arouses  a  desire  to  read  them.    It  is  even 


38  FURTHER  EXPLANATIONS 

maintained  that  in  some  cases  evil-minded 
authors  have  intentionally  written  so  as  to 
get  their  books  put  on  the  Index. 

Now,  every  prohibitory  law  may  have 
the  effect  of  increasing  the  inclination  of 
men  towards  the  prohibited  thing  or  act. 
Thus  a  person  may  possibly  feel  a  stronger 
appetite  for  meat  on  Friday  than  on  any 
other  day  of  the  week.  We  have  inherited 
this  tendency  from  Eve,  who,  when 
tempted,  saw  that  the  forbidden  fruit  ''  ivas 
good  to  eat  and  fair  to  the  eye  and  delight- 
ful to  behold/'  and  then  proceeded  tc  vio- 
late the  first  prohibitory  law  ever  given. 
But  is  that  a  reason  to  do  away  with  every 
prohibitory  law? 

Who  does  not  see  at  once  that  the  Index 
must  prove  a  very  poor  advertising  me- 
dium ?  Those  who  have  it  are  certainly  not 
the  prospective  buyers  of  immoral  novels 
or  of  works  which  propagate  heretical 
views  in  theology ;  while  those  who  hanker 
after  sensationalism  or  doubtful  theology 
will  not  invest  $2.25  for  a  book  list  which 
contains,  e.  g.  for  the  year  1898,  fully  eight 


FEAR  OF  APOSTASIES  39 

titles,  four  of  which  are  German,  and  for 
1903  fifteen,  all  French. 

This  side  of  the  question,  as  we  have  re- 
marked elsewhere,  is  also  in  each  case  care- 
fully weighed  by  the  Sacred  Congregation, 
before  it  resolves  upon  a  prohibition. 

Even  if  the  sale  of  a  book  should  be  in- 
creased by  the  fact  of  its  condemnation,  the 
Index  would  nevertheless  achieve  its  main 
purpose,  namely,  to  warn  the  faithful  that 
the  ideas  advocated  in  the  proscribed  book 
are  contrary  to  faith  and  morals.  This  is 
enough  for  all  men  of  good  will  to  enable 
them  to  shun  the  poison.  Those  who  re- 
fuse to  heed  the  warning  will  have  to  blame 
their  own  ignorance  or  malice  if  the  read- 
ing of  a  condemned  book  results  in  spirit- 
ual hurt. 

C.     Index    Decisions    Not    Omitted    for    Fear    of 
Apostasies. 

A  book,  we  are  reminded,  often  repre- 
sents the  opinions  not  only  of  its  author, 
but  of  many  of  his  disciples  and  admirers. 
By  forbidding  it  and  thus  branding  such 


40  FURTHER   EXPLANATIONS 

opinions  as  erroneous,  it  is  said,  many  in- 
fluential men  may  become  embittered  and 
may  even  be  driven  into  an  attitude  of  open 
hostility. 

However,  the  Church  is  in  duty  bound 
to  exercise  her  guardianship ;  which  she 
cannot  do  if  every  one  is  to  have  his  own 
way.  Nor  can  the  Church  neglect  the  mass 
of  her  children  in  order  to  accommodate 
this  or  that  coterie  or  school,  whose  opin- 
ions are  manifestly  wrong. 

Moreover,  to  be  a  trustworthy  guide,  the 
Church  must  state  the  truth  clearly  and  nn- 
mistakably.  The  faithful  are  not  guided 
by  ambiguous  circumlocutions,  by  terms 
that  may  be  understood  in  two  or  perhaps 
more  ways.  Neither  may  she  keep  exclu- 
sively in  the  lofty  heights  of  theory;  but 
she  must  instruct  with  regard  to  the  facts 
of  everyday  life.  The  dangers  arising  from 
books  are  concrete  not  abstract,  and  they 
must  be  met  by  concrete  measures.  This 
can  be  done  effectively  only  by  an  ener- 
getic and  unmistakable  "  thou  shalt  not," 
which  makes  men  realize  that  they  are 
"  under  authority." 


FURTHER   EXPLANATIONS  4^ 

No  one  has  ever  stated  the  truth  more 
clearly,  more  unmistakably  than  Christ  our 
Lord.  Was  it  not  precisely  for  this  very 
fact  that  "  many  of  His  disciples  went  back 
and  walked  no  more  with  Him  "  ?  (John 
6,  67.) 

D.     The  "Good  Catholic." 

"  I  am  a  Catholic.  I  live  up  to  my  re- 
ligion and  go  regularly  to  the  sacraments. 
I  have  had  a  good  Catholic  education  and 
hear  a  sermon  every  Sunday.  I  do  not 
see  why  I  should  be  afraid  to  read  any 
book,  even  if  it  belonged  to  those  forbid- 
den by  the  Index." 

You  may  do  so;  but  you  may  fare  in 
consequence  as  David  fared  —  David  who 
was  a  saint  and  yet  committed  adultery 
and  murder.  If  you  read  a  forbidden  book 
without  permission,  you  are  as  good  a  Cath-  '■ 
olic  as  one  who  eats  meat  on  Friday.  The 
object  of  the  law  of  abstinence  is  to  make' 
sure  that  every  Christian  performs  at  least 
a  certain  minimum  of  penance.  Now  there 
are  saintly  persons  who,  in  imitation  of  our 
crucified  Savior,  do  more  penance  on  ordi- 


42  FURTHER  EXPLANATIONS 

nary  days  than  the  average  Catholic  does  by 
abstaining  from  meat  on  twenty  or  more 
Fridays;  and  yet  they  are  not  exempted 
from  the  law  of  abstinence  and  would  be 
the  last  to  claim  such  an  exemption. 

Similarly  the  object  of  the  Index  is  to 
make  sure  that  every  Christian  avoids  at 
least  the  worst  books.  By  obeying  its  laws 
we  declare  that  our  standpoint  is  that  of 
the  Church  of  God.  This  result  cannot  be 
obtained  unless  the  prohibition  is  made  uni- 
versal, exempting  no  one,  no  matter  how 
pious  or  learned  he  may  be.  Therefore, 
all  Christians,  good  and  bad,  priests,  reli- 
gious and  lay  people,  students  and  profes- 
sors, unless  they  have  a  dispensation,  are 
bound  by  the  ecclesiastical  laws  regarding 
books.  By  asking  for  a  dispensation  we  im- 
plicitly acknowledge  and  approve  of  the 
official  position  of  the  Church  on  the  sub- 
ject of  wicked  books,  and,  so  far  as  in  us 
lies,  ratify  and  sanction  the  reasons  which 
lead  to  their  condemnation. 

You  say  you  are  a  good  Catholic,  and 
therefore  this  law  does  not  bind  you.    Are 


FURTHER   EXPLANATIONS  43 

there   any   commandments   of   the    Church 
that  bind  only  bad  Cathohcs? 

E.     A  Mortal  Sin. 

"  I  am  told  that  a  transgression  of  the 
Index  law  is  a  mortal  sin.  Can  it  be  true 
that  the  Church,  the  kindest  of  mothers, 
should  load  us  down  with  such  a  severe  ob- 
ligation ?  " 

According  to  the  theologians,  the  reading 
of  a  forbidden  book,  or  of  a  considerable 
part  of  it,  is  sl  mortal  sin.  The  selection 
of  the  books  on  which  our  souls  feed  is  a 
matter  of  no  small  importance.  True,  the 
Church  is  the  kindest  of  mothers ;  but  she  is 
also  the  wisest.  To  direct  the  consciences 
of  her  children  and  ''  to  restrain  them  from 
the  reading  of  bad  books  a^  from  a  deadly 
poison/'  is  the  great  object  of  her  legisla- 
tion. Under  the  leadership  of  a  master- 
mind like  that  of  Leo  XIII,  the  Roman 
authorities  have  labored  for  years  in  formu- 
lating the  present  ecclesiastical  laws  about 
books.  These  laws  are  the  voice  of  the  su- 
preme pastor,  the  successor  of  St.  Peter. 


44  f^URTHER  EXPLANATIONS 

Let  us  not  spurn  it  like  the  heathen  and 
the  pubHcan. 

r.    The  Galileo  Case. 

The  Roman  Congregations  are  no  more 
infalHble  than  our  bishops  and  pastors. 
And  yet  there  is  practically  but  one  case, 
during  more  than  three  centuries,  in  which 
they  are  accused  of  having  made  a  mis- 
take. It  is  the  condemnation,  by  both  the 
Holy  Office  and  the  Index,  of  Galileo  Gal- 
ilei Linceo  (died  1639)  for  defending  the 
theory  that  the  earth  moves  around  its 
own  axis  and  around  the  sun. 

This  teaching  was  according  to  the  com- 
mon belief  of  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
at  that  time,  clearly  opposed  to  Holy 
Scripture,  which  the  Church  was  bound  to 
vindicate.  If  Galileo's  theory  was  true, 
the  traditional  interpretation  of  sundry 
Bible  texts  would  have  had  to  be  aban- 
doned. 

The  Church  had  weighty  reasons  for  not 
allowing  this.  The  new  theory  was  not 
at  all  certain.  Galileo  himself  admitted  he 
could  not  establish  more  than  a  probability. 


GALILEO  45 

Several  very  obvious  objections  he  was 
unable  to  explain  satisfactorily.  None  of 
the  real  proofs  used  in  our  days  were 
known  to  him.  He  was  told  by  the  Jesuit 
Cardinal  Bellarmin,  if  he  could  advance  any 
convincing  proof  for  his  theory,  the  tradi- 
tional interpretation  of  those  passages 
would  be  given  up.  But  all  Galileo  had 
to  offer  was  an  ingenious  hypothesis.  Had 
he  advocated  it  as  such  with  due  respect 
for  the  time-honored  interpretation  of  the 
Book  of  Books,  had  he  not  used  bold,  some- 
times bitter  and  defying  language,  no  steps 
would  have  been  taken  against  him,  who 
had  until  then  been  a  favorite  of  the  pope 
and  of  many  dignitaries.  As  matters  stood, 
"  the  Church  could  wait  for  the  education 
of  a  physical  system,  but  she  could  not 
allow  a  change  in  the  universally  accepted 
interpretation  of  Scripture,  before  the  ne- 
cessity of  such  a  change  was  proved." 
( Guggenberger,  History  of  the  Christian 
Era.     Vol.  H,  pp.  456,  etc.) 

"  The  marvelous  unanimity  of  the  ene- 
mies of  the  Church  in  concentrating  all 
their  attacks  against  the  Roman  Congrega- 


46  FURTHER  EXPLANATIONS 

tion  on  the  case  of  Galileo,  is  a  striking  neg- 
ative testimony  to  the  value  of  the  decis- 
ions of  courts  which  have  been  at  work  for 
centuries."     (Rome.) 

G.    State  and  Protestant  Book  laws. 

As  we  have  already  remarked,  Henry 
VIII  continued  his  policy  of  proscribing 
books  opposed  to  his  views  long  after  he 
had  constituted  himself  the  head  of  the 
English  Church.  Between  1526  and  1546 
there  were  issued  by  the  King's  authority 
nine  catalogues  of  books  which  English- 
men were  forbidden  to  read.  Among  these 
books  were  the  works  of  the  continental 
"  reformers  " ;  for  some  years  the  English 
[Bible;  also  writings  against  the  King's 
matrimonial  projects. 

The  Protestants  on  the  continent  fol- 
lowed the  same  system.  Calvin  condemned 
a  Spanish  physician,  who  happened  to  come 
to  Geneva,  to  be  burned  at  the  stake,  be- 
cause he  had  written  a  heretical  book.  The 
Protestant  princes  and  republics  had  each 
its  special  book-legislation,  which  was  made 


STATE  AND  PROTESTANT  LAWS   47 

to  serve  not  only  religious  but  also  political 
purposes. 

After  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, in  almost  all  Catholic  countries,  the 
civil  power  usurped  the  monopoly  of  pro- 
scribing books,  and  practiced  it  in  a  truly 
despotic  way.  Thus  in  Austria  639  books 
were  forbidden  within  five  years.  No  book 
was  allowed  to  be  printed  without  previous 
permission,  not  even  on  forestry  or  cattle- 
raising.  Bishops  were  severely  reproved 
for  enforcing  the  prohibitions  of  the  Ro- 
man Index  in  their  seminaries. 

Napoleon  I  had  a  publisher  shot,  prac- 
tically without  trial,  for  issuing  a  work 
contrary  to  his  political  plans.  One  book 
was  publicly  burned  because  it  contained 
the  picture  of  Pius  VII.  To  enable  the 
authorities  to  control  the  book  trade  more 
effectively,  no  printing  establishment  was 
allowed  to  have,  in  Paris  more  than  four, 
and  in  the  provinces  more  than  two,  presses. 

Needless  to  remark,  the  civil  authorities 
have  the  right  to  prohibit  books  that  se- 
riously endanger  the  common  welfare.     If 


48         FURTHER  EXPLANATIONS 

they  use  this  right  in  a  reasonable  way, 
their  measures  are  hkely  to  bring  about 
good  and  prevent  evil.  We  all  have  occa- 
sional opportunities  to  observe  this  in  the 
measures  taken  against  immoral  literature 
by  the  police  or  the  post-office  department. 

H.    Some  Examples  of  Submission  to  the  Index. 

The  first  Roman  Index,  that  of  1559,  v^^as 
considered  rather  severe.  One  of  the  influ- 
ential men  who  tried  hard  to  have  its  pro- 
visions softened,  was  Blessed  Peter  Can- 
isius,  the  "  Second  Apostle  of  Germany/' 
Yet  the  very  letters  he  wrote  to  Rome  for 
this  purpose  show  that  he  scrupulously  ob- 
served all  the  regulations,  though  he  him- 
self, called  the  ''  Hammer  of  Heretics," 
surely  incurred  little  personal  risk  by  read- 
ing forbidden  books. 

About  1698,  a  book  by  Archbishop  Fcne- 
lon  was  under  investigation  at  Rome.  Fe- 
nelon  was  a  great  scholar  and  one  of  the 
greatest  preachers  of  all  centuries,  but  he 
was  also  a  loyal  son  of  the  Church.  He 
knew  a  condemnation  of  his  book  would 


EXAMPLES  OF  SUBMISSION        49 

mean  his  own  condemnation  in  the  eyes  of 
CathoHc  France.  His  friends  as  well  as 
his  antagonists  were  eagerly  awaiting 
Rome's  decision  on  one  of  the  great  church- 
man's books.  At  last  the  verdict  was  pro- 
nounced in  the  most  solemn  way  by  the 
Pope  himself,  and  it  was  a  condemnation. 
Fenelon  was  just  ascending  his  pulpit, 
March  25,  1699,  when  his  brother  broke 
the  news  to  him.  The  great  Archbishop  at 
once  proceeded  to  read  to  his  own  flock  the 
papal  document  and  preached  an  eloquent 
sermon  on  the  obedience  every  Christian 
owes  to  his  superiors.  We  can  imagine 
what  a  profound  impression  his  words  must 
have  made.  His  was  a  truly  heroic  exam- 
ple of  self-abnegation. 

In  1861  there  died  in  Munich  Ernest  von 
Lasaulx,  a  famous  professor  of  the  Univer- 
sity. In  his  writings  he  had  now  and  then 
been  very  bold,  and  it  was  rumored  that  the 
Congregation  of  the  Index  thought  of  cen- 
suring some  of  his  books.  Von  Lasaulx 
knew  this.  A  few  weeks  before  his  death 
he  made  an  implicit  retraction  of  the  errors 
he   might    have    involuntarily     committed, 


50         FURTHER   EXPLANATIONS 

which  was  forwarded  to  Rome  by  his 
friends.  Already  some  years  before  he  had 
declared  that  he  had  never  intended  to  con- 
travene the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  but 
that  he  feared  there  were  many  errors  in 
his  books.  "  If  Rome  would  think  it  ad- 
visable to  put  my  books  on  the  Index,  I 
should  consider  the  verdict  perfectly  just, 
since  I  -firmly  believe  that  such  measures 
are  truly  in  the  interest  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  our  times/'  Four  of  his  books 
were  really  condemned  after  his  death. 

In  July,  1906,  an  Italian  novel,  //  Santo, 
(The  Saint)  by  Fogazzaro,  was  put  on  the 
Index.  The  author  "  submitted  himself." 
An  American  edition  of  the  book  had  mean- 
while appeared ;  ''  but  the  prohibition  by 
the  Roman  authorities  was  duly  respected 
by  the  publishers  of  the  leading  Catholic 
papers  of  America,  which  declined  to  ac- 
cept advertisements  of  the  book."  (Put- 
nam.) 


SECTION  II 

A  SUMMARY  OF  THE  INDEX 

I.     Our  Duties  in  Relation  to  Forbidden 
Books. 

Rule  i.  We  are  not  allowed  to  read 
forbidden  books,  nor  any  considerable  por- 
tion of  them,  even  if  those  portions  be  in 
themselves  harmless.  If,  however,  a  book 
is  forbidden  merely  on  account  of  the  one 
or  other  objectionable  passage  it  contains, 
the  objection  ceases  as  soon  as  these  pas- 
sages are  expunged  or  rendered  illegible. 

Rule  2.  No  one,  whether  he  be  the 
owner  or  not,  is  allowed  to  keep  a  forbid- 
den book.  He  must  either  destroy  it,  or 
give  or  sell  it  to  some  one  who  has  permis- 
sion, or  he  must  obtain  permission  for  him- 
self. 

Rule  3.     It  is  not  lawful  for  a  Catholic 

51 


52         ^SUMMARY:    OUR  DUTIES 

publisher  or  printer  to  issue,  or  print,  or 
reprint  forbidden  books.  Nor  may  a  book- 
seller keep  such  books  in  stock,  unless  he 
has  obtained  formal  leave  to  do  so. 

Note  I.  Although  all  the  members  of 
a  Catholic  family  should  endeavor  to  keep 
forbidden  books  out  of  the  home,  the  head 
of  the  household  is  chiefly  responsible  be- 
fore God.  It  is  to  be  remarked,  however, 
that  Catholic  librarians  or  servants  do  not 
violate  this  law  by  keeping,  handhng,  or 
cataloguing  forbidden  books  for  their  em- 
ployers, e.  g.  in  the  latter's  house,  or  in  a 
public  library. 

Note  2.  If  a  book  or  any  particular  is- 
sue of  a  forbidden  periodical  calls  for  a 
speedy  public  refutation,  and  if  permission 
to  peruse  it  cannot  be  waited  for,  any  edu- 
cated Catholic,  who  may  be  reasonably  pre- 
sumed to  be  competent  to  refute  it  by  ser- 
mon, lecture  or  newspaper  article,  may  read 
such  book  or  periodical  without  awaiting 
special  permission. 

Note  3.  In  all  other  cases,  each  and 
every  Catholic,  be  he  priest  or  layman,  pro- 
fessor or  student,  must  first  obtain  permis- 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       53 

sion.  Neither  piety,  nor  learning,  nor  po- 
sition exempts  one  from  this  law.  The 
permission  is  granted  by  bishops  and  their 
vicars  general,  who  can  also  delegate  this 
power  to  others.  When  asking  for  this 
permission  the  applicant  should  mention 
the  book  which  he  thinks  he  has  good  rea- 
sons to  read. 

The  juridical  question,  whether  the  bish- 
op's faculty  is  ordinaria,  or  quasi-ordinaria, 
or  extra-ordinaria,  and  how  far  it  extends, 
is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  Summary. 

Note  4.  All  who  are  dispensed  from 
the  Church  law  regarding  forbidden  books, 
must  apply  every  possible  precaution,  in 
order  that  they  may  not  suffer  injury  to 
their  faith  or  purity  of  heart.  Such  pre- 
cautions are:  the  hearing  of  sermons,  the 
reading  of  Catholic  books,  the  frequenting 
of  Catholic  society,  regular  prayers,  and  the 
frequent  and  humble  reception  of  the  sac- 
raments. 

2.     Forbidden  Books. 

Rule  4.  General  Rule. — Translations 
of  a  forbidden  book  into  any  language,  if 


54       SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN  BOOKS 

they  faithfully  reproduce  the  original,  are 
also  forbidden. 


^  A.    The  General  Decrees  Prohibit  the  Following 
Publications. 

Rule  5,  a.  Books  defending  heresies, 
i.  e.  doctrines  contrary  to  divine  revelation. 

b.  Books  derogatory  to  God,  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  the  Saints. 

c.  Books  vilifying  the  sacraments,  the 
clerical  or  religious  state,  the  hierarchy,  the 
Church. 

Rule  6.  Books  professedly  treating  of, 
narrating  or  teaching  lewdness  and  obscen- 
ity. 

Rule  7.  Books  teaching  or  recommend- 
ing sorcery,  Spiritism,  Christian  Science, 
or  other  superstitions. 

Rule  8.  Books  defending  as  lawful  or 
harmless  Freemasonry,  divorce,  Socialism, 
suicide,  duelling. 

Rule  9.  Those  newspapers  and  period- 
icals which,  not  only  now  and  then,  but 
regularly  and  of  set  purpose,  attack  reli- 
gion or  morality,  or  propagate  anti-Cath- 
olic views. 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       55 

Rule  io.  Episcopal  approbation,  to  be 
printed  in  the  beginning  or  at  the  end  of 
the  book,  is  required  for  all  editions  of  the 
Bible  or  parts  of  the  Bible  in  any  language, 
likewise  for  all  prayer  books,  books  of  de- 
votion and  of  practical  piety.  Without 
episcopal  authorization  such  publications 
are  forbidden,  though  they  may  have  been 
issued  by  the  most  learned  and  pious  men. 

Note  I.  Leaflets  which  are  so  small 
that  they  cannot  be  called  books,  or  even 
booklets  or  pamphlets,  do  not  fall  under 
this  law.  But  if  they  are  not  approved  by 
the  bishop,  the  duty  of  making  sure  that 
they  contain  nothing  erroneous  devolves 
upon  those  who  use  them. 

Summaries  of  indulgences,  however,  no 
matter  how  small,  always  need  episcopal 
approbation  and  may  not  be  circulated 
without  it. 

Note  2.  All  editions  of  the  Bible,  ed- 
ited by  non-Catholics,  in  ancient  as  well  as 
modern  languages,  are  permitted  to  those, 
and  those  only,  who  are  engaged  in 
serious -theological  or  biblical  studies,  pro- 
vided,   however,    that    the    prolegomena 


56        SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN  BOOKS 

AND  ANNOTATIONS  do  not  of  sct  purpose 
impugn  the  Catholic  faith.  It  is  not 
enough  that  the  text  itself  is  faithfully  and 
completely  rendered. 

Note  3.  An  exception  has  also  been 
made  in  favor  of  those  classics,  ancient  and 
modern,  which  on  account  of  their  obscen- 
ity fall  under  rule  6.  In  as  far  as  they  are 
models  of  style  they  may  be  read  by  per- 
sons engaged  in  teaching  university  or 
higher  college  classes  of  literature,  by  those 
who  are  preparing  for  such  a  position  in 
the  near  future,  and  by  those  who,  on  ac- 
count of  their  profession,  e.  g.  as  critics  or 
authors  of  literary  works,  cannot  well  do 
without  them.     (See  note  4  above.) 

Whenever  we  know,  or  discover  while 
reading,  that  a  book  undoubtedly  belongs 
to  any  one  of  these  classes,  we  may  be  sure 
that  it  is  a  work  which  our  Holy  Mother 
the  Church  does  not  wish  to  see  in  our 
hands,  and  we  must  then  act  according  to 
the  words  of  Christ :  "  He  who  heareth 
you,  heareth  Me,  and  he  who  despiseth 
you    despiseth    Me."     No    need    of    first 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       57 

looking  up  the  catalogue  of  forbidden 
books;  whether  the  volume  in  question  is 
mentioned  there  or  not,  makes  no  differ- 
ence. Xor  does  it  matter  what  the  literary- 
character  of  the  book  is.  An  apparently 
learned  history  of  the  seizure  of  Rome  in 
1870,  written  with  the  obvious  intention  of 
maligning  Pius  IX,  is  forbidden  just  as 
well  as  a  novel  written  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, or  the  prayer  book  of  some  Protestant 
sect. 


B.    Books  Forbidden  by  Particular  Decrees. 

The  following  list  contains  a  number  of 
titles  which  every  English-speaking  Cath- 
olic ought  to  know.  All  the  books  that 
have  been  put  on  the  Index  during  the  last 
few  years  have  been  mentioned,  not  so 
much  for  completeness'  sake,  as  because 
they  contain  the  palmary  error  of  our  time, 
namely:  ^lodernism,  and  among  its  doc- 
trines especially  the  unchristian  treatment 
of  the  Bible.  None  of  these  books  are 
written  in  English.  But  some  have  been 
and  others  may  soon  be  translated.     Their 


58       SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS 

titles,  as  well  as  those  of  most  other  for- 
eign books,  are  given  in  English. 

Addison,  Jos. 

Remarks  on  Several  Parts  of  Italy. 
Bacon,  Francis. 

De   dignitate   et   augmentis   scientiarum. 
(On  the  Dignity  and  Increase  of  Sci- 
ence.) 
Bahac,  Honore  de. 

All  novels. 
Bentham,  Jeremy. 
Three  Tracts,  etc. 

Deontology  or  the  Science  of  Morality. 
Bingham,  Jos. 

Origines  Ecclesiasticse,  or  The  Antiqui- 
ties of  the  Christian  Church. 
Blunt,  John  James. 

Vestiges  of  Ancient  Manners  and  Cus~ 
toms,  etc. 
Bois,  Jules. 
Satanism. 
Bruno,  Giordano. 

The  Conflict  of  Religion,  Morals  and  Sci- 
ence in  Contemporary  Education. 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       59 

Bunsen,  Christian  Chas.  J. 

Hippolytus  and  His  Age,  or  The  Doc- 
trine and   Practice  of  the   Church  of 
Rome  under  Commodus  and  Alexan- 
der Severus,  etc. 
Bureau,  Paul. 

The    floral    Crisis    in    iModern    Times. 
Preface   by   M.   Alfred   Croiset. 
Burgess^  Richard. 

Lectures  on  the   Insufficiency  of  Unre- 
vealed  ReHgion. 
Cudzi'orth,  Ralph. 
The    True    Intellectual    System    of    the 
Universe,  etc. 
Darwin,  Erasmus. 

Zoonomia  or  the  Laws  of  Organic  Life. 
Denis,  Chas. 

An   Apologetic    Lenten    Course    on    the 

Fundamental  Dogmas,  1903. 
Church  and  State :     The  Lessons  of  the 
Present  Hour,  1903. 
Descartes,  Rene. 

jMeditations  on  Original  Philosophy. 
Dimnet,  Ernest. 

Catholic  Thought  in  England. 


6o        SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS 

DoUinger,  John  Joseph  Ignatius. 

The  Pope  and  the  Council. 

Janus. 
Draper,  John  William. 

History  of  the   Conflicts  Between  ReU- 
gion  and  Science. 
Dug g an,  James. 

Steps  towards  Reunion. 
Dumas,  Alexander  (father  and  son). 

All  novels,  except  The  Count  of  Monte- 
cristo. 
Earle,  John  Chas. 

The  Spiritual  Body. 

The  Forty  Days,  or  Christ  Between  His 
Resurrection  and  Ascension. 
Fenelon,  Francois  de  Salignac. 

The  Principles  of  the  Saints. 
Ferriere,  Emile. 

The  Soul  a  Function  of  the  Brain. 

The  Apostles. 

Darwinism. 

The  Scientific  Blunders  of  the  Bible. 

Matter  and   Energy. 

Paganism  of  the  Hebrews. 

Life  and  Soul. 

The  Myths  of  the  Bible. 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       6l 

Ffoulkes,  Edmund  S. 
Christendom's  Divisions. 
The     Church's    Creed    or    the    Crown's 
Creed. 
Fogazzaro,  Antonio. 

The  Saint   (a  novel). 
Frohschammer,  Jacob. 

Origin  of  the  Human  Soul. 
Introduction  to  Philosophy. 
On  the  Liberty  of  Science. 
Christianity  and  Modern  Science. 
The  Right  of  One's  Own  Conviction. 
The    New    Knowledge    and    the    New 
Faith. 
Gear  gel,  Michel. 

Matter:     Its  Deification,  Its  Rehabilita- 
tion, and  Its  Ultimate  Destiny. 
Gibbon,  Edzcard. 

History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire. 
Goblet  d'Alviella,  Eug. 

The  Idea  of  God. 
Goldsmith,  Oliver. 
An  Abridged  History  of  England  From 
the   Invasion   of   Julius   Caesar  to   the 
Death  of  George  II. 


62        SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS 

Graf^  Arthur. 
The  Devil. 
Gregoroz'ius,  Ferdinand. 

History   of   the    City   of   Rome    During 

the  Middle  Ages. 
The  Sepulchral  Monuments  of  the  Popes. 
Urban  VIII  in  Opposition  to  Spain  and 

the  Emperor. 
Athenais:     The  History  of  a  Byzantine 

Empress. 
Wanderings    in    Italy     (fifth    volume), 
Scenes  in  Apulia. 
Hallam,  Henry. 

The  Constitutional  History  of  England, 

etc. 
View  of  the  State  of  Europe  During  the 
Middle  Ages. 
Heine,  Heinrich. 
De  I'Allemagne. 
De  la  France. 
Reisebilder. 
Neue  Gedichte. 
Hilairc  de  Paris. 

Exposition  of  the  Rule  of  St.  Francis. 
Hohhes,  Thomas. 
All  works. 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       63 

Houtin,  Albert, 

The  Biblical  Question  among  the  Cath- 
olics of  France  in  the  XIX  Century. 

The  BibHcal  Question  in  the  XX  Cen- 
tury. 

My  Troubles  with  ]\Iy  Bishop. 

Americanism. 

The  Crisis  of  the  Clergy. 
Hugo,   Victor. 

N'otre  Dame  de  Paris. 

Les  Miserables. 
Hume,  David. 

All  works. 
James  I,  King  of  England. 

Basilikon    cloron    (Royal    Gift)    divided 
into  three  books. 

Triplici  nodo  triplex  cuneus,  etc. 

Meditatio  in  Orationem  dominicam. 

Meditatio  in  caput  XXVII  evangelii  S. 
]\Iatthah 
Kant,  Immanuel. 

Critique  of  Pure  Reason. 
Laberthonniere,  Lncicn. 

Essays  on  Religious  Philosophy. 

Christian  Realism  and  Grecian  Idealism. 


64        SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS 

Lacaze,  Felix. 

To   Lourdes   with  Zola. 
Lang,  Andrew. 

Myth,  Ritual  and  Religion. 
Lasserre,  Henri. 

The  Holy  Gospels. 
Lefranc,  E.   (pseudonym). 

The  Conflicts  of  Science  and  the  Bible. 
Le  Morin,  Jean. 

Truths  of  Yesterday? 
Lenau,  Nicola  us. 

Die  Albigenser. 
Lenormant,  Frangois 

The  Beginnings  of  History. 
LeRoy,  Edouard. 

Dogma  and  Criticism. 
Locke,  John. 

An    Essay    Concerning    Human    Under- 
standing. 

The  Reasonableness  of  Christianity,  etc. 
Loisy,  Alfred. 

Gospel  Studies. 

The  Gospel  and  the  Church. 

The  Fourth  Gospel. 

Apropos  of  a  Little  Book. 

The  Religion  of  Israel. 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       65 

Maurice^  Frederick  D. 

Theological  Essays. 
Mill,  John  Stuart. 

Principles  of  Political  Economy. 
Milton,  John. 

Literae  pseudo-senatus  Anglicani,  Crom- 
wellii  reliquorumque  perduellium  nom- 
ine conscriptse. 
Mivart,  St.  George. 

Happiness  in  Hell. 
Montesquieu,  Chas.  de  Secondat  de. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Laws. 

Persian  Letters. 
Miiller,  Joseph. 

Reform  Catholicism. 
'Negri,  Ada. 

Fatalism. 
Olive,  Jos. 

Letters  to  the  Members  of  the  Pious  and 
Devout  Society  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus, 
etc. 
Osborne,  Francis. 

Miscellaneous  Works. 
Payot,  Jides. 

About  Faith. 

Before  Entering  Life. 


66       SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN  BOOKS 

Payot,  Jules  (continued). 

Program  of  Modernism  (a  reply  to  the 
encyclical). 
Planchet,  Franc.  Regis. 

Episcopal'  Absolutism    in    the    Mexican 
Republic. 
Piifendorf,  Samuel  von. 

Introduction  to  the  History  of  the  Prin- 
cipal States  of  Europe. 
(Also  four  Latin  works.) 
Quievreux^  Camille. 

Paganism  in  the  XIX  Century. 
Ranke,  Leopold. 

The  Roman  Popes:     Their  Church  and 
Their   State   in  the   XVI   and   XVII 
Centuries. 
Renan,  Ernest. 

Practically    all    his    works    (the    Index 
names  nineteen). 
Renouf,  Peter  LePage. 

The  Condemnation  of  Pope  Honorius. 
Richardson,  Samuel. 

Pamela,  or  Virtue  Rewarded. 
Robertson,   Wm. 

The  History  of  the  Reign  of  the  Em- 
peror Charles  V. 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       67 

Rohling,  August. 

The    Kingdom    of    the    Future.     (Der 
Zukunftsstaat.) 
RoscoCj  Willi  a  }n. 

The  Life  and  Pontificate  of  Leo  X. 
Rosmini-Serhati,  Antonio. 

The    Constitution    according    to    Social 
Justice. 

Of  the  Five  Wounds  of  Holy  Church. 
Rousseau,  Jean-Jacques. 

Emile,  or  About  Education. 

The  Social  Contract. 

Letter     to     Christopher     de     Beaumont, 
Archbishop  of  Paris. 

Letters  Written  from  a  Mountain. 

Julia,  or  the  New  Heloise. 
Sahatier,  Paul. 

Life  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi. 
Saintyves,  P. 

The  Intellectual  Reform  of  the   Clergy 
and  the  Freedom  of  Education. 

The  Saints  as  Successors  of  the  Gods. 

Miracles  and  Historical  Criticism. 

Miracles  and  Scientific  Criticism. 
Sand,  George  (pseudonym). 

All  novels. 


68       SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN  BOOKS 

Schell,  Hermann. 

Catholic     Dogma      (Katholische     Dog- 
matik). 

Catholicism  as  a  Principle  of  Progress. 

The  Divine  Truth  of  Christianity. 

The  New  Time  and  the  Old  Faith. 
Seymour,  Michael  H. 

A  Pilgrimage  to  Rome. 
Soulie,  Frederic. 

All  novels. 
Stendhal,  H.  B,  de. 

All  novels. 
Sterne,  Laurence. 

A  Sentimental  Journey. 
Strauss,  David  F. 

The  Life  of  Christ. 
Stroud,  William. 

Treatise  on  the  Physical  Cause   of  the 
Death  of  Christ. 
Sue,  Eugene. 

All  novels. 
Taine,  H.-A. 

A  History  of  English  Literature. 
Tolstoy,  Dmitry. 

Roman  Catholicism  in  Russia. 


SUMMARY:     FORBIDDEN   BOOKS       69 

V  eric  our,  L.  R.  de. 

Historical  Analysis  of  Christian  Civiliza- 
tion. 
VioUct,  Paul. 

The    Infallibility   of   the    Pope    and   the 
Syllabus. 
Vogrincc,  Antou. 

Nostra    maxima    culpa     (Our    Greatest 
Fault). 
Voltaire,  F.-M.  Arouet. 

Practically   all  his   works. 
Whateley,  Richard. 

Elements  of  Logic. 
White,  TJionias. 

All  works. 
IViese,  Sigismund. 

Jesus    (drama). 
Zola,  Emile. 

All  works. 


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